Outgoing Illinois State Comptroller Leslie Munger blasted Democratic lawmakers on her final day in office.

Six Democratic lawmakers in the Assembly filed a lawsuit on Friday, requesting that a judge order the comptroller to pay their wages despite their
failure to pass a balanced budget for fiscal 2017.

Munger reminded citizens at a Chicago press conference that
the lawmakers are in line for their paychecks along with hospitals, human
service organizations, small businesses and other state vendors. By filing the
lawsuit, they are requesting special treatment while vendors and
suppliers wait for payment.

"Their action comes eight months after I implemented a
policy requiring that all state elected leaders -- myself included -- be treated
just like everyone else," Munger said. "How cowardly and self-serving
that while they refused to challenge my action while I was in office, they are
now going to court when there will be a new administration led by one of their
own."

Munger ordered the payroll staff to place the lawmakers'
checks in the queue with those of vendors, small businesses, utilities and other
services in April. She included her own paycheck, as well as those of Gov. Bruce Rauner and
other elected officials, with the delayed payments.

Her action was taken while the Assembly remained stalemated
on the budget. The state has not had a full budget since fiscal 2015.
Rauner vetoed 19 of the 20 budget bills presented for fiscal 2016 in May 2015. He only signed
the education funding bill. Without a budget, the state could not pay its
bills. Some bills were mandated by court order or prior appropriations. The
backlog of unpaid bills began growing.

While Munger ensured that lawmakers would not receive paychecks
until a full budget was passed, the legislature remained at an impasse over
Rauner's proposed reforms and House Speaker Mike Madigan's (D-Chicago) refusal to
discuss changes in the legislature and budget. The power struggle continued as
the legislature worked on a budget for fiscal 2017.

In late May, Madigan presented an all-or-nothing budget to
the House. Although the bill was $7 billion in the red, the House passed it and
sent it to the Senate, where it was voted down. In turn, the Senate sent an
education bill to the House to ensure that schools could open in the fall. It was
defeated. The legislature adjourned without a budget for the second year in a
row.

Near the end of June, the legislature met and -- in a flurry of
activity -- passed a temporary "stopgap" budget. It was not a full
budget, but did fund K-12 and higher education and other essential services.
The stopgap budget is set to expire on Dec. 31.

While Munger was steadfast in her determination to withhold
lawmakers' paychecks until a full, balanced budget is passed, the Nov. 8
election forced a changing of the guard. Munger was defeated in a special
election by Democrat Susana Mendoza, who will serve the remaining
two years of former comptroller Judy Baar Topinka's term. Topinka died suddenly
after her reelection to the office in 2014. Munger was appointed to the
position by the Republican leadership.

At a news conference Friday, Munger spoke of the state's
financial picture. Without a budget, she and her staff have been left with few
options in paying the state's bills.

"Today, our state has more than 126,000 unpaid bills
totaling more than $10.3 billion, and our office is paying invoices dating back
to June 17," Munger said. "That means vendors throughout the state
are waiting six months or more for payments they have been promised. We ended
the month of October with just $10 million in cash available to pay down $8
billion in bills, yet these lawmakers are going to the Court to ask that they
receive preferential treatment and get paid first. Literally every dollar
counts in our ability to fund critical services -- and there are no words for
my disgust and disappointment with this lawsuit."

In closing, Munger reminded voters that if the lawsuit is
successful, they can challenge their representatives and question why legislators
should be paid before social services and state vendors. She also urged
lawmakers to work on a balanced budget so that all of Illinois' bills can be paid,
including the unpaid bill backlog.

"As a reminder, the problems we face today are decades in the making. It does not help to promise funding to any group when there
is no money to write the checks," Munger said. "It is imperative that
we pass a balanced budget -- and instead of filing lawsuits, I encourage
lawmakers to return to Springfield and do their job so that the state can meet
its obligations, and everyone is paid on time."

Mendoza had indicated that she intended to continue withholding the lawmakers' paychecks unless ordered to do otherwise by a court. She also said she would not accept her own $136,000 annual salary.

Want to get notified whenever we write about
Citizens for Leslie Munger
?

Next time we write about
Citizens for Leslie Munger,
we'll email you a link to the story. You may edit your settings or unsubscribe at any time.